DR BLOG

Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is the result of infection with the spirochete Borrelia Burgdorferi. It is generally thought that the infection is the result of a tick bite, which about 50% of the time results in a rash, often described as a ‘bulls eye’ rash, but which can vary in appearance. Symptoms of untreated Lyme disease typically include joint aches which seem to migrate from one joint to another over days), flu-like sympt...

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Can a Brain Be on Fire?

Yes! Over the last 20 years, ample evidence has accumulated to prove that inflammation in the body causes changes in the brain that lead to depression, anxiety, sleep problems, and memory problems. Inflammation comes from the Latin ‘inflammare’ — to set on fire. Our brain is ‘on fire’ when it is inflamed, or when our body is inflamed.     What sets your brain on fire?Your body experiences inflammation the way y...

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Mood, Gut Bacteria, and the Immune System

Many people would be surprised that the immune system, the gastro-intestinal tract and stress interact, but that is what the most recent of a number of studies shows. In this study on mice, (Brain, Behavior, and Immunity Volume 25, Issue 3, March 2011, Pages 397-407.) researchers demonstrated that psychological stress causes almost immediate changes to the gut bacterial population and that some of these affecte...

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WSJ: “With every Alzheimer’s diagnosis, the same bleak conversation”

1. What is mindfulness in the context of arthritis pain as well as other forms of pain? What is its importance to patients with chronic conditions?   Mindfulness is a state of mind which enables one to step back and simply observe, without judgment, how one’s mind, and body are behaving at the moment. As a consequence, one can separate pain-a purely physiological response to a noxious stimulus, from the sufferi...

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